Help & Advice

Postpartum Care Guide

Your first hours, days, weeks and months as a new mom are unlike anything you've been through before. Here's what you need to know about taking care of YOU post-delivery.

Do's & Don't's

DO Remember that your body has just accomplished A LOT. Follow your health care provider's instructions for self-care and take the "recovery" part of "postpartum recovery" seriously.

DO wait 6-8 weeks before resuming any exercise and do get cleared by your health care provider before doing so, even yoga.

DON'T expect to be back to your pre-pregnancy "normal" right away. Your body is coursing with hormones, milk is coming in, your uterus is returning to its normal size, and you're sleep-deprived. You won't feel or look like "you." Yet. But you will. Eventually.

DON'T start off trying to be Supermom. There's no such thing. Ask for and accept help.

DO talk with other moms about their post-delivery experiences to help you have realistic expectations. Whether you join a support group, call your friends or family, or even pick the brains of your next-door neighbors, reach out and connect with other women about what it means to be a new mom.

DO continue to take your prenatal or switch to a multi-vitamin supplement formulated for breastfeeding moms.

C-Section Tips

Surgical birth can slow the bowels, increase gas, and result in constipation. Speed recovery of bowel control after a c-section by chewing gum.

C-section scars can itch, tingle, ooze and be a bother long after childbirth. Speed healing and help prevent an unsightly scar with the natural, organic and effective combination of anti-bacterial and collagen-producing oils in Scar Booster Repair.

Get Your Body Back

Your uterus was just the size of a watermelon. Now, it has to return to about the size of a pear. Safely speed the return of your uterus to its normal size with Monthly Comfort Tea. This tea strengthens the uterus, so it works more efficiently (read: faster) to get back to its pre-pregnancy size.

Take an eraser to your stretch marks. Not all stretch mark treatments are created equal! We're proud to offer Belli Motherhood Stretchmark Minimizing Cream because it's been carefully created to ensure that it's safe for breastfeeding moms and because real moms have used it and seen positive results.

Guide your hips back into place with the Shrinkx Hips Postpartum Belt. Left to follow their own course, your post-baby hips are unlikely to return to your pre-pregnancy shape. You have a window of about 8 weeks following childbirth in which pregnancy hormones are still in your body and your hips are still loose enough to move. Pounce on that opportunity and, with your health care provider approval, wear a postpartum compression belt encourage your hips and pelvis to go back where they belong.

Words to the Wise

Know the signs of postpartum depression and take them seriously. Be on the lookout (and tell your partner to be on the lookout) for warning signs such as feeling hopeless, feeling disconnected from your baby and your partner, feeling no emotion or experiencing volatile emotions like out-of-control hostility, deep rage or agonizing sorrow and non-stop crying. Some mood swings and "baby blues" are normal due to the hormonal changes you're experiencing and the profound life changes that a new baby brings, but if there are more bad days than good, and the bad days last for weeks at a time, you should talk to your health care provider. Stat.

It took 9 months for your body to get as big as it did, so don't cry at what you look like after birth. Give yourself 9 months to get your body back. (PS: You're still beautiful.)